Minnesota based rock ‘n’ roll band–featuring Jason Oberuc (Suffering Hour) and Nate Towle (ex-Satan’s Satyrs, ex-Wicked Inquisition)–are pining for the back alleys of the gritty late ’70s with new band Extermination Day. Like a cross between Carnivore and The Rods with a nod to a drunk Gerry Rafferty thrown in for good measure, this two-man, genre fuckfest is as wild as the Brooklyn Queens Expressway on a Saturday night. That is to say, it’s debauched, largely unexpected but has a stench of familiarity. Formed in 2020 by Towle and inspired by revenge film The Exterminator, Extermination Day has all the feels (cardboard VHS sleeve), smells (downtown movie theater), and thrills (found porno mags) of our generation’s heyday.
Extermination Day have already released a self-released EP called If Ingested, Consult a Mortician, but have returned for a full-on greasy boner with new album, Be the Consequence (Hoove Child Records / cassette via Green Coyote Records). There’s no escape from old-world tropes here–vigilantism, anger, societal shitstorms, police brutality, and the usual sad, violent stuff clogged in the arteries of the great American experiment. Towle’s front-row seat to the riots in Minneapolis provided literal fuel to his fire. The track, “Kill (Like a Motherfucker),” Decibel is coordinating with the folks at Hoove Child and Green Coyote embodies Extermination Day’s rocks-out, cocks-out bravado. There’s no throwback heavy metal at play here. It’s not cosplay. Like if Blue Cheer and The Mentors had a kid into the non-poodle version of Y&T and the ethics of Bernhard Goetz.
Explains Towle: “”Kill (Life a Motherfucker)” was inspired in part by a 10-day stint I had in a crisis residence center; the kind of place you go to when you are having a complete mental breakdown. Said center was the host of a slew of characters in the midst of their own struggles; some of which were far more serious than others. One person I met was a gang member who was there simply to hide from a rival gang. In a very impassioned dialogue with me he recounted several instances of criminal activity before reaching a state of incredible sadness, lamenting the fact that he hasn’t seen his son in a long time and likely never will again. I found this contradictory line of thought interesting; it made me realize that there are so many people out there that are driven to crime as a result of their surroundings and the circumstances they find themselves in.
“The song itself is about a person that does what they need to do just to survive; both good and bad. The whole notion of a good person driven to do bad things to survive was an area I tried to explore lyrically. I also wanted to highlight the fact that some people aren’t even given the opportunity to be good people; that they are completely paralyzed by the lifestyle they are born into.
“Musically, this song ended up turning into something that sounds like a doomed out Stooges; we were very much inspired by the Funhouse album and wanted to employ a similar Steve McKay-style saxophone freakout session to this song. Bruce Lamont laid down several saxophone takes during the middle section and nailed the vibe perfectly. The minor key riffing and usage of saxophone, keyboard, and tambourine all coalesced into a Detroit-style garage rock anthem gone wrong. The title itself is a nod to the Johnny Thunders album.”
Bang a drum, the struggle of our lifetime is upon us with Extermination Day’s “Kill (Like a Motherfucker)”!
** Extermination Day’s new album, Be the Consequence, is out August 5th, 2022 on Hoove Child Records and Green Coyote Records. Pre-orders for CD and digital are available via Bandcamp (HERE). Let Them Eat Metal!
